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“My lyrical vision is like a collision of body and mind and bump and grind” -From Do It Like Me, by Raja Kumari

Los Angeles-based MC/singer/songwriter/activist Raja Kumari is the spearhead of a brand new hybrid sound that fuses modern hip hop and R&B with classic Indian roots. Welcome to the one-woman BollyHood revolution!

Raja Kumari, which is the MC moniker of Svetha Rao, was born and raised in East Los Angeles, California to Indian-immigrant parents. Her life as a performer began early as a classical Indian dance prodigy who had her dance debut at age 7 in the presence of legendary sitar player and guest pandit Ravi Shankar, who noted: “Svetha is beyond her years.”

Raised on a steady diet of Indian music, young Svetha found hip hop around 5th grade via The Fugees’ “The Score”, which was also the first English-language record she had ever heard. By age fourteen she would develop a reputation as a respected freestyle MC on the local scene and made her earliest recordings with Damon Elliot (Destiny’s Child, Pink) and Chico Bennett (Madonna, Prince). The name, Raja Kumari (Sanskrit for “princess”), evolved from Svetha’s teen-era hip hop nickname, I.P., short for Indian Princess.

Tracks like, “Samsara”, “Do It Like Me” and “Money” from her forthcoming full-length album, Genre Rebel demonstrate Raja’s seasoned confidence powered by her unstoppable youthful heartbeat. Alternating between rapping and singing, Raja’s smart-yet-sassy delivery is set to a sound that blends future-forward hip hop, indo-beat, Bollywood, and electro with elements of traditional Indian dance rhythms.

RK also has a stunning list of activist achievements for an independent artist only 23 years of age. She’s put her money where her mouth is raising over $80,000 for various charities through her performances: contributing to the building of a hospital in Bangalore and a meditation hall in South India for the Vegesna Foundation (School for Physically Handicapped Children). She has been named a benefactor of the Indic Foundation. She received the Kohinoor Award for Excellence in the Classical Arts and has won numerous talent competitions. Raja also holds BA degrees in Religious Studies and South Asian Studies. Additionally, as a songwriter she is a part of the multi-platinum Mach 1 Music production team (High School Musical, Hannah Montana, etc).

Shortly before graduating from college in 2008, she competed in a battle of bands against 5 rock acts. She was the only hip hop artist on the bill. Alone with her microphone, she swept the competition winning 1st place and an opening slot for hip hop legends Bone Thugz and Harmony.

She says, “I represent conscious hip hop. I want to make people open their mind to the possibility of hip hop that enlightens and lifts people, not just crap rap and rhymes about guns and drugs.”

Alongside the recent success of free spirited female genre-benders: Santogold, MIA and Lady GaGa; Raja Kumari arrives just in time to officially re-boot, refresh, and rewrite the rules of hip hop. Hot off of the current interest in all things Bollywood she’s already hit the ground running in 2009 with appearances in the UK and a new record on deck. It’s clear that the stars are aligned for Raja Kumari’s mainstream breakthrough.

People get ready for RK; the genre rebel from BollyHood is coming at you right about now!

Written by: Marko DeSantis, March 2009, Los Angeles, CA